The Great Battle
Scripture – Luke 4:1-4: 1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
Reflection: There is a great spiritual battle going on all the time between Christ and Satan, light and darkness, life and death. We are caught in the midst of that battle. In fact, it is a battle for our souls.
Satan would like us to ignore that fact. The less we think about it, the less we need to stay alert and on guard. Christ keeps us aware of the struggle. He keeps us alert to the temptations around us, and He gives us the power to resist and overcome those temptations – a power I do not have on my own.
Spiritual high points are almost always followed by temptations. My awareness of that is my first line of defense. It’s striking that immediately after His baptism and the inauguration of His public ministry, the Spirit led Jesus in the desert where He was tempted.
Some temptations are overt – they’re right in front of us. Those are relatively easy to deal with. It’s the subtle temptations that get me – the ones where I look back and realize what I should have done.
Be alert today. Be ready to recognize the temptations that will come your way. And remember, in Christ, we have the One who has already overcome!
An Invitation: A small group will be meeting this coming Sunday morning from 9:45 – 10:30am to share what we’ve learned and seen in this week’s readings. We meet in the Pastor’s office at Bethel Baptist Church, 13330 Trenton Road in Southgate. Everyone’s welcome to join us.
Reflection: There is a great spiritual battle going on all the time between Christ and Satan, light and darkness, life and death. We are caught in the midst of that battle. In fact, it is a battle for our souls.
Satan would like us to ignore that fact. The less we think about it, the less we need to stay alert and on guard. Christ keeps us aware of the struggle. He keeps us alert to the temptations around us, and He gives us the power to resist and overcome those temptations – a power I do not have on my own.
Spiritual high points are almost always followed by temptations. My awareness of that is my first line of defense. It’s striking that immediately after His baptism and the inauguration of His public ministry, the Spirit led Jesus in the desert where He was tempted.
Some temptations are overt – they’re right in front of us. Those are relatively easy to deal with. It’s the subtle temptations that get me – the ones where I look back and realize what I should have done.
Be alert today. Be ready to recognize the temptations that will come your way. And remember, in Christ, we have the One who has already overcome!
An Invitation: A small group will be meeting this coming Sunday morning from 9:45 – 10:30am to share what we’ve learned and seen in this week’s readings. We meet in the Pastor’s office at Bethel Baptist Church, 13330 Trenton Road in Southgate. Everyone’s welcome to join us.
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